# There's no such thing as a stupid question. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 7, 2000, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/24901 "2000-07-07T22:40:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2000, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/24901/21 "2000-07-10T13:50:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Morgan \* > \*\*It was a hot day & that was the only thing I wanted. No burger, no fries. Just a McFlurry. Unfortunately, the person at the Burger King drive through couldn’t help me. \*\* A similar thing happened to a friend of mine when we were in high school. We stopped at a Burger King after taking our SAT tests. His mind must have been pretty frazzled by the end of the testing because he ordered a Mc DLT. The counter person responded, “Sir, this is Burger King”. He said, “I know, and I want a Mc DLT!” We had to tell him that they didn’t serve that at Burger King. He was so embarrased. We still razz him about it. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2000, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/24901/22 "2000-07-10T15:48:32Z")
Once while buying a diamond, the jeweler was pulling loose diamonds out of a little bag with needle-nosed pliers. Before my brain to mouth filter kicked in, I blurted out “Isn’t that going to scratch the diamonds?”. The expected blank stare from the jeweler followed. ---
**Author:** ![lswote](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lswote/32/5737_2.png) [@lswote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lswote)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2000, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/24901/23 "2000-07-10T19:43:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tshirts \* > \*\ ***Here’s some that aren’t so dumb:** > > “Who’s buried in Grant’s Tomb?” (the crypt in NYC’s Central Park) > U.S. Grant and his wife.\*\* Actually, according to the this [Grant’s Tomb site](http://www.theinsider.com/NYC/attractions/2general.htm): > [@](#): > > **Who’s Buried in Grant’s Tomb?** > This is an old joke to which the answer is no one. Our eighteenth president and his wife are, however, entombed here. Made of 8,000 tons of granite, with Massachusetts marble for the floors and fine Italian marble for the railings and trimmings, Grant’s Tomb sits high above the Hudson River in the midst of a beautiful park. It was once one of the most popular attractions in New York City, although it rarely attracts much of a crowd today. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/24901/24 "2000-07-11T07:35:28Z")
Saruman I concur with tracer. That was not a dumb question. Maybe irrelevant to the topic being discussed at the time, but- what’s stupid about it? Scientists ask themselve stupid questions like that all the time. Like how much energy can you get out of one kilo of matter. (a little like Einstein asking himself if I’m on my motorcycle driving at the speed of light and I turn on my headlights, what happens? Good joke. Excellent question.) salior, I dunno, that sounds like a perfect example of “No such thing as a stupid question.” That is, the guy obviously didn’t understand the water cycle. But instead of spending his whole life in ignorance he asked and now he’s less stupid. That’s what questions are for. I suppose I should contribute my own stupid question at this point. Unfortunatly I have never asked (or stated, or done) anything stupid in my entire life. Either that or I am repressing memories to painful to deal with. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/24901/25 "2000-07-11T08:48:45Z")
During a criminal justice class in high school we had a guest speaker. He was a jail deputy, and he was showing us the sleeping arrangments of the prisoners and everything. A friend of mine raised his hand and asked, “Where do the gaurds sleep?” ---
**Author:** ![Byzantine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@Byzantine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Byzantine)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/24901/26 "2000-07-11T09:42:29Z")
obfusciatrist – that wasn’t really stupid because you really didn’t know. I wish to the Goddess I had been your teacher because I would have been very clear with you that he had been killed. And not made you feel “stupid” for not knowing that. Just because it was such a media event for your parents doesn’t mean YOU should have known. I’m sorry, but sometimes we do that to our children. We think if WE know it, they should too. That’s not the real case. Remember the time difference, folks. What was big news in our life time is old history to our children. I remember the very date we, the USA, landed on the moon, because I was three. It was a major deal in my home and my dad woke us up to watch it. It’s one of the very first real “memories” I have. I agree with you, there are no stupid questions. Even when someone pulls the “gry” thing. I didn’t for the longest time, know what the hell they were talking about. I do now. But for the most part, no, I don’t think there are any stupid questions. I look at the age of the person asking, run them through my bullshit meter, and then go from there. I think, at times, we take “community information” for granted when it isn’t. And you really don’t even want to KNOW about the stupid seeming questions I’ve asked! ;0 ---
**Author:** ![Chris25](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@Chris25](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chris25)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/24901/27 "2000-07-11T13:37:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SarumanRex \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by obfusciatrist \* > > > > “If Kennedy was so great, why wasn’t he reelected?” > > ROTFLMAO 😃 > > The stupidest quesion I ever asked was to my physics teacher in high school. He was explaining and re-explaining the same topic to the denser students when my mind started to drift. I began to calculate whether one kilo of matter when converted into energy according to the neat new equation I had just discovered E=mcc, could boil the entire ocean. To do the calculation I first had to know some things about the ocean such as its average temperature, salt concentration, and most importantly: > > “Mr Vanscoter, how much water is there in the ocean?” > > I said this right in the middle of class, while Mr. Vanscoter was right in the middle of explaining F=ma. My classmates laughed for days, they never let me live it down, for weeks they would raise their hands to ask, “how much air is there?”, or “how much does the earth weigh?”. > > \*\* How high is the sky? Who created God? ---
**Author:** ![Chris25](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@Chris25](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chris25)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/24901/28 "2000-07-11T13:46:05Z")
Check it out dude. I once asked this dude how high the sky is and who made God. Really stupid huh? Wait! I just asked that five minutes ago. SHIT! :(:(:(☹ ---
**Author:** ![Chris25](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@Chris25](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chris25)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/24901/29 "2000-07-11T13:47:41Z")
I need a hug. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bottle_of_Smoke)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2000, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/24901/30 "2000-07-11T14:17:42Z")
When I was a kid I called a radio station to request a song (OK, it was that “Ghost Riders in the Sky” remake in the '80s – and I’m not going to open a thread about what kind of crappy music we liked when we were young). The DJ that answered the phone said “If you would turn your radio on, you would realize that we are playing that song right now.” Urk. ---
**Author:** ![Minxsmom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Minxsmom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minxsmom)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/24901/31 "2000-07-12T04:51:09Z")
There was the time I was in the deli and I ordered a BLT. The girl looked up as she was writing my order and asked, “do you want lettuce and tomato on that?” ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/24901/32 "2000-07-12T07:17:50Z")
When I was in 7th grade my class went on a field trip to Columbus, Oh. We went to the top of the tallest building in Ohio. Don’t know what I was thinking but I asked the tour giude if you could see Kings Island (which is in Cincinnati) from here. The tour guide says, “no, that’s about 100 miles away” ---
**Author:** ![Megling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/54ee81/32.png) [@Megling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Megling)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/24901/33 "2000-07-12T12:59:31Z")
Picture this. Superbowl, 1997. A small blond Megling is in her first year of college, watching her frist Superbowl and surrounded by large men wearing face paint who jump around and hit things when something good happens. Innocently, the hapless freshman female turns to the nearest hairy beast and utters this phrase, “How many quarters are there in a football game?” Dead silence. Doh! I’ve never felt so dumb in my life. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/24901/34 "2000-07-12T15:01:37Z")
There’s a gardening call-in show on one of the local radio stations here. I’ve never understood why people choose to call in and ask for advice and then argue with it. Typical conversations go like this: “I need some help with my (whatever). Two years ago all the leaves turned brown, then they fell off. They haven’t come back.” “Your plant is dead. Take it out.” “Does it need extra fertilizer?” “No, it’s dead.” “How about if I give it more shade?” “No, it’s dead.” “Should I be spraying for insects?” “No, it’s dead.” “Should I water it in the morning, or later in the day?” “Doesn’t matter, it’s dead. Hi, you’re our next caller.” Two or three calls like that make my Saturday complete. ---
**Author:** ![Myrr21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Myrr21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myrr21)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2000, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/24901/35 "2000-07-17T04:07:26Z")
In high school, wanting to get the temporal relationship between some events in WWII straight, I asked, “So FDR was still kicking, right?” Thought about that one for a while. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/24901.md?page=1)